


bloodstream

by icemachine



Category: White Collar (TV 2009)
Genre: Episode: s01e10 Vital Signs, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-23
Updated: 2021-02-23
Packaged: 2021-03-14 01:29:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 974
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29660370
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/icemachine/pseuds/icemachine
Summary: Even high, Neal Caffrey is still the smartest man he’s ever met.(Neal kisses Peter in the clinic.)
Relationships: Elizabeth Burke/Peter Burke/Neal Caffrey, Peter Burke/Neal Caffrey
Comments: 5
Kudos: 49





	bloodstream

**Author's Note:**

> THIS IS MY FIRST WHITE COLLAR FIC IT'S BAD & I'VE SEEN EXACTLY 11 EPISODES BUT THEY LIVE IN MY BRAIN!!!!!!!!!

Even high, Neal Caffrey is still the smartest man he’s ever met.

He still manages to get himself out of his restraints — _never met a lock I couldn’t pick,_ and it’s admirable, it’s so fucking _endearing —_ but he can’t walk. He’s simply on the bed, resting. Just there. Completely helpless. It’s almost ironic, but only God knows what they’ll do to him if Peter doesn’t get him out of here _fast._

He can’t let anyone hurt Neal. He won’t let anyone hurt Neal. The thought of it brews up nausea within him; this is because Neal is _his_ responsibility, _his._ There is no other reason. Neal is his responsibility, and he has to keep Neal safe. Right now he can’t even _move._ The only thing sparking Peter’s fear now is the amount of paperwork he’d have to do if—

He grabs Neal, drapes him over his shoulder, and drags him into a meeting room. Neal’s skin is softer than he imagined, Neal’s hand pressing into his neck. He always imagined — in a normal, platonic way — that it would be soft, smooth, but the intensity of it in reality, Neal close to him in a manner that is _too_ revealing… his skin is the softest, purest texture that he has felt in a very long time—

They’re going to send him back. The security camera tapes caught him, and they’ll send him back for breaking in. They both know this.

Neal is — a valuable asset. His knowledge (and charm) has helped them solve cases that, without Neal Caffrey, would have been almost impossible.

He can’t—-

“Before I go back,” Neal says, and he’s grasping Peter’s face now, again soft, again pure and _right,_ “you should know this. Out of all the people in my life, you know, Mozz, even Kate… you’re the only one.”

Peter’s heart flutters for a reason he cannot pin down. “The only one what?”

“The only person in my life I trust.”

“That’s very—”

But now Neal is—

He’s—

He—

He’s closing the gap between them, a horribly awkward position, and Neal is _kissing_ him now, Neal is touching him, and he’s been drugged, this is the fault of whatever the hell they gave him —- this is _not_ Neal Caffrey. This cannot be Neal Caffrey.

He pulls back when he realizes that he’s been handcuffed to an office chair.

Peter knows what he has to do. 

“Hey.”

“Don’t pick this lock,” Peter says. He steals the security tape, he gets Neal to safety, he prays that Neal does not bring up what happened after the medicine is out of his system.

+

After he has charmed Elizabeth — _you look thirsty —_ a beautiful romantic scene drenched in elegance — she places a hand on his shoulder, and looks him directly in the eyes. For a moment, he thinks it’s seduction.

“I know you,” she says. “Something happened with Neal today.”

Damn it.

Peter sighs. “I’m that obvious?” His pause adds an emphasis that is entirely unintentional. “He kissed me.”

Elizabeth does not look surprised. “Did you kiss him back?”

“No. No, I did _not._ ” He holds his hand up, his wedding ring glistening in dim light. “Besides,” he adds, “he was drugged. He obviously didn’t mean to.”

But Elizabeth only smiles, wide, _beautiful._ He loves her _so much._

“You know,” she says, “if it had been anyone other than Neal....”

“What?”

“It’s okay,” she tells him. “If you like him.”

“I don’t.”

“I give you permission to do anything you want with Neal Caffrey.”

He jolts backwards. It’s -- shocking. _Shocking_ is an understatement. How — how can she —?

“Why?”

“Because I want you to be happy,” Elizabeth says, it’s genuine, she’s _angelic_ , “and I know you don’t want to admit it, but he makes you happy.”

“Please. He’s annoying, he’s a nuisance, and…”

“Okay, I get it. Just wanted to throw that out there, you know.” She takes another sip of wine, and leans into him, kisses Peter on his jaw. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

+

Peter Burke is an idiot.

He’s the biggest idiot on the planet. In the _universe._ He woke up, got dressed, had breakfast with his wonderful perfect loving wife, and throughout all of this, he actually believed that Neal wouldn’t remember what happened at the clinic.

The very _minute_ he steps out of his house, he gets a call. _We have to talk about what happened. Come over._ Then: dial tone. That asshole.

If he doesn’t talk about this with Neal, then things are going to become _disgustingly_ awkward. He has no choice. He knows that he has no choice.

+

Neal opens the door. He walks in. It’s already _disgustingly_ awkward. Neal won’t say anything. So much for _we have to talk,_ but Peter also cannot find the confidence to say something -- in other words, in addition to being an idiot, Peter is also a hypocrite. He is changing so much, nowadays, all because of Neal.

The silence breaks at Neal’s insistence, as he sits down on the couch — _Neal’s_ couch, in _his_ space, alone. “I was out of my mind, you know. I don’t actually like you like that.”

“You brought me all the way over here to tell me you’re not into me.”

“Yeah,” Neal says, but he’s taking his place next to Peter, sitting so _close,_ that his actions almost say otherwise. It’s tactical, strategic; they are both waiting for the other to make a move. The unspoken knowledge in both of their minds -- this is a bad idea. He can’t—

Peter—

It’s his turn to make a mistake. 

He kisses Neal, passion flowing from his hands and lips and chest like an endless fire. Neal freezes until he melts into it, bodies moving against bodies, hands grasping bodies, bodies—

“Liar,” Peter whispers, into the (soft) skin of Neal’s neck.

“Did you expect anything else?”

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



End file.
